Car-coupling



(No Model.)

P. J. DOGKRAY.

GAR GOUPLING.

No. 433,522. Patented Aug. 5, 189'0.

1HE News Parana nu., Puoomwu., wAsmuaraN n c 4 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

PETER J. DOCKRAY, OF KEARNEY, NEV JERSEY.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 438,522, dated August5, 1890..

Application filed May 23, 1890. Serial No. 352,851. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, PETER J. DOCKRAY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kearney, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hook and- CatchCouplers; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable oth* ers skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use theqsame.

The special object of the invention is to make a carcoupling which willcouple automatically and uncouple by lifting a drop-bar, as hereinafter'described.

Figure l of the drawings is a plan View of two draw-heads coupledtogether; Fig. 2, a horizontal section of a draw-head; Fig. 3, avertical cross-section on the dotted Aline :n m of Fig. l; Fig. e, aside elevation; Fig. 5, a detail perspective view of the pivoted hook;Fig. G, a side elevation of the drop-bar, and Fig. 7 a det-ail view ofthe device for holding up the drop-bar.

In the drawings, A represents the drawhead, in the front edge of whosejaw is pivoted the hook B, which has a shank b, nearly or quite at rightangles thereto. To the end of shank l) is attached an arc rod ZJ', whichmoves in a slot a', made horizontally in the draw-head, so as to beinside or outside of it.

C is a vertical drop-bar passing through the draw-head hole a, whichcrosses the curved slot a and provided with a groove c, through whichpasses the arc rod l1 when the holes a. a register. The drop-barC alsohas a shoulder c', which bears on the crank d when the latter is in therabbet, to hold up the dropbar and cause the holes a a to register. Thecrank-shaft D is journaled in bearings d CZ on the bottom of thedraw-head, one end of said shaft extending` out at the side thereof, andbeing there provided with a lever E, weighted at one end and curved atthe other, the curve enabling` itto be actuated by the arc rod h to movethe crank d away from the shoulder c. This allows the bar C to drop andrest on the arc rod ZJ', thus locking the hook B at right angles to thejaw.

F is a cam, which l use on the lower end of the drop-bar C, so that whenthe latter is lifted the cam will bring the crank d directly under theshoulder c. The drop-bar C is raised until the cam F strikes crank d andsends it home7 directly under the shoulder c-, where the weight on endof the lever is intended to keep it. This positive movement given to thecrank by the cam F is an important feature of my invention.

lt will be observed that if the eye of dropbar C is pulled up so thatthe cam forces the crank under the shoulder c', the weight keeps thecrank pressed against the drop-bar until the drop-bar is let go, when itrests on the shoulder c. Now, if the hook is opened, the cam on the endof the arc rod will force the crank from the shoulder c and the bar Cwill make its first drop and rest on the are rod h. This holds the hookopen to a certain extent and prevents any side jar of the cars frommoving it across the track of the hook of another coupler in the act ofbeing coupled to it.V ln order to lock the coupler, it is only necessaryto close it, when the drop-bar C will ride on the are rod buntil itreaches the end thereof, when it will make its second drop and lock thehook B.

What l claim as new, and desire toprotect by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with the shank b and arc rod b of the pivoted hookB, of a dropbar C, having the groove c, and a draw-head having the holesa a', whereby the said bar maybe dropped to lock the hook or raised tolet it swing out, as set forth.

2. The combination, with the drop-bar C, rabbeted to form a shoulder c',of a sha-ft D, having` the crank d', and the end-weighted lever E,having a curved end operated bythe arc rod b', as and for the purposeset forth.

3. The combination of the draw-head A, the v pivoted hook B, thedrop-bar C, the crankshaft D,the lever E, and their auxiliary parts toform a carcoupling which may be uncoupled from the top or side bylifting the drop-bar7 as described.

In testimony whereof l affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

PETER J. DOCKRAY. lVitnesses:

SAMUEL E. GEADY, MICHAEL FITZGERALD.

